Today, electronic components are being put in places where they previously did not exist. For instance, electronic components are being put into such consumer products as refrigerators, dishwashers, and laundry equipment. Not only have electronic components become more prevalent, but the amount they have been assigned to do has increased. Electronics in refrigerators, for example, used to be relegated to controlling temperature and humidity. Now, manufacturers have created refrigerators with consoles that not only control temperature and humidity but that can set up proper conditions inside the refrigerator for particular types of food, keep track of what is currently in stock in the refrigerator and order new supplies for low stock items, and even allow Internet connections.
Another area that has experienced tremendous growth in the use and complexity of electronic components is mobile stations, such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), text messaging devices, and the like. Cellular phones, as an example, used to offer nothing but voice information. Recently, cellular phones have begun to include many other features, such as text messaging, picture taking, transmission, and reception, Internet and email connections, and even video such as television.
These features have caused a corresponding increase in bandwidth operated on by the mobile station. To handle the bandwidth, some mobile stations include optical devices, such as optical fibers, between electronic components in the mobile stations. Optical is chosen because, e.g., of its immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), very high bandwidth, and relatively small size. Typically, an optical device on one electronic component will be coupled to another optical device on another electronic component through the use of optical ports. Each optical device has an optical port and communication takes place through the optical ports. The optical ports are typically separated by a gap, such as the gap that exists between the two electronic components.
While optical devices are beneficial, there are certain problems associated therewith.